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Ooho - the plastic-free edible water blob

Signal of change / Ooho - the plastic-free edible water blob

Skipping Rocks Lab has unveiled an innovative plastic-free solution: Ooho. Ooho is a pouch which can be eaten alongside its contents, providing an alternative to plastic water-bottles. The pouch is made from plant-based materials derived from seaweed and other plant materials, has a low environmental impact and is said to be cheaper to produce than plastic. Currently aimed at the water-on-the-go market, Skipping Rocks Lab has the ambition to take the product into other industries such as soft drinks and cosmetics.

So what?

Ooho challenges our throwaway culture by asking 'do we really need plastic to get the same convenience we rely on?' The use of seaweed as the base of its products is also the latest in a shift in attention to seaweed by several industry, as we highlighted in this sensemaking. As with all plant-based alternatives, it's important to assess the land-use impact of switching to alternative materials. Seaweed, however, doesn't need agricultural land, fertilizer or freshwater and acts as an important carbon sink along with many other sustainability benefits.
Not only that, but cutting back reliance on plastic by moving to plant-based products can prevent emissions from the plastic industry and from incineration of plastic waste - which is of course made from fossil fuels.

Sources

http://www.skippingrockslab.com

What might the implications of this be? What related signals of change have you seen?